eChapters

Storage is one of the most important aspects of post harvest handling of fruits and vegetables. The main objective of storage is to extend storage life of fruits and vegetables and increase their period of availability. A substantial quantity of fruits go waste in India due to lack of proper storage facilities. Storage of fruits and vegetables is practiced for various reasons. Proper post harvest handling of fresh horticultural produce helps in extending  period of availability of wide range of  fruits and vegetables round the year, prevention of seasonal market gluts, orderly marketing, better return to grower and  preservation of  nutritional qualities. The   long  term  storage  of  fruits  and  vegetables is expensive and requires high level of technical  knowledge of crop. However, an orderly marketing reduces storage period considerably. 

Postharvest handling is the stage of crop production immediately following harvest, including cooling, cleaning, sorting and packing. The instant a crop is removed from the ground, or separated from its parent plant, it begins to deteriorate. Postharvest activities include harvesting, handling, storage, processing, packaging, transportation and marketing. Losses of horticultural produce are a major problem in the postharvest chain. The diseases which develop on harvested parts of the plants like seeds, fruits and also on vegetables are the postharvested diseases. The amount or extent of damage depends mainly on the pathogen(s) involved, on the condition of the products and the condition of storage. Major tips to avoid postharvest losses include Tips to avoid postharvest losses include assessing maturity, to check your water quality, to check water temperature, avoid injury, keep the produce cool and proper storage.

“Storage” means the phase of the postharvest system during which the products are kept in such a way as to guarantee food security other than during periods of agricultural production at the marketing level, to balance the supply and demand of agricultural products, thereby stabilizing market prices. Grain, which includes dry kitchen ingredients such as flour, rice, millet, couscous, cornmeal, and so on, can be stored in rigid sealed containers to prevent moisture contamination or insect or rodent infestation. For kitchen use, glass containers are the most traditional method. Maturity indices are the sign or indication the readiness of the commodity for harvest. It is the basis for determining harvest date. Postharvest losses occur between harvest and the moment of human consumption. They include on-farm losses, such as when grain is threshed, winnowed, and dried, as well as losses along the chain during transportation, storage, and processing.

11.1. Storage fungi

Store fungi include all species of Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillium.

Aspergillus flavus, A. candidus, A. niger, A. parasiticus, A. repens, A. rubber, A. versicolor, etc. Penicillia etc

Penicillia are more prevalent in cooler climate.

7.1. Storage

• Helpful in checking market glut, providing wide selection of fruits, vegetables and flowers to consumer through most part of year i.e. especially during off season.

• Helps in orderly marketing and increases profit to producers/farmers.

• Done to maintain freshness, quality, reduce spoilage and extend their usefulness.

• Huge post-harvest losses due to lack of proper storage facilities.

• Basic principle of storage - to reduce rate of physiological processes like respiration, transpiration, ripening and other biochemical changes.

• Proper storage aims to control disease infection and preserve best quality for consumers.

• Chemical used to extend the shelf life and quality of produce

Introduction
• The main objective of food preservation is to avoid food spoilage • So, the underlying principle behind all the meat preservation technique is providing adverse conditions for the growth and survival of the harmful microbials and such adverse conditions may be provided in the from of heat, cold, high level of salt, increasing acidity or removal of water/ oxygen
• Meat can be preserved by many techniques such as drying, heating, low temperature, curing, addition of chemicals or by application of irradiation and high pressure
• Addition of chemical i.e. chemical preservation which is accomplished by smoking is generally done after salting and pickling of meat
Physical changes in stored raw meat
1. Shrinkage
2. Sweating
3. Bloom loss

Storage : It can be defined as keeping the commodity fresh or processed in safe condition with minimum of deteriorative changes for later use.

Reasons of Deterioration During Storage

3.1 Introduction

Water used for irrigation can be stored mainly in three sources i.e. soil reservoir, surface reservoir or groundwater reservoir. Accordingly the storage system can be defined as soil reservoir storage system, surface reservoir storage system or groundwater storage system. Each of these storage systems has its own merit and demerit. Some of the storage systems though economical but are not helpful to store the irrigation water for longer periods. On the other hand, some other storage systems are very costly, but the irrigation water can be stored there for a longer period. However, before adopting a particular storage system, economics of the system need to be calculated. The cost of installation of the system and the water stored in the storage system and its use as supplemental irrigation to the crops to increase the production in terms of monetary benefit need to be assessed and then the economics of the system should be computed. The storage system that gives maximum benefit-cost ratio and net present value should be adopted for storage of irrigation water. The different types of storage systems are discussed below.

Abstract

Pulses constitute an important component of the diet and are a major source of protein in vegetarian diet. India has largest area under pulse cultivation and produces a variety of pulses. A large portion of this produce gets spoiled due to insect and fungal attack. A variety of insecticides and fungicides are used for the control of pest during storage. There is an increasing trend towards the reduction in the use of pesticides in storage due to strong demand from consumers to choose food with no pesticide residue, development of insect resistance to pesticides and the impact of pesticides’ use on environment. All these have posed a challenge to refine the existing management procedures of storage and commodity to find the optimal solution. Controlled/ Modified Atmosphere storage offers an alternative to the use of pesticides extends storage life and maintains product quality. The Controlled/Modified Atmosphere is created by altering the composition of the atmosphere in terms of CO2, O2, and N2 concentration. High CO2 produce undesirable conditions for insects and microbes and thus control their activity.

13.1. Storage pests

13.1.1. Rice weevil: Sitophilus oryzae, S. zeamais, S. granarius

1. Host range: Wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, paddy.

1. INTRODUCTION

To over come the problem of glut of perishables and to regulate the market, storage of such commodities is a 'common' practice. Storage of fruits and vegetables also makes available these commodities in the off-season. Needless to say, storage is a powerful tool in the prevention of postharvest losses and to give remunerative prices to the farmers. The management of temperature and relative humidity are the most important factors determining storage life of horticultural produce. The natural means like ice, cold water, night temperature have been used for long time for protecting food materials from spoilage and these are still common. However, with the development of innovative technologies, it is possible to achieve optimal environments in the insulated stores. All these aspects are discribed in this chapter.

Onion bulbs remain vulnerable to moisture loss, sprouting, rotting and microbial deterioration during extended storage. Traditional structures frequently provide inadequate ventilation and expose produce to fluctuating temperature and humidity. This chapter examines scientific curing and storage technologies, including improved ventilated structures, zero-energy cool chambers, forced-air systems and controlled or modified atmospheres. Renewable-energy and solar-powered facilities are considered for small and marginal farmers. The chapter also discusses value addition through dehydration, powdering, flaking, pickling, paste production and other processed products. Improved storage enables gradual market release and price stabilization, while value addition reduces waste, creates diversified products, enhances shelf life and generates additional income for growers and processors.

Introduction

India is bestowed with huge production of fruits, vegetables, cereals, millets, sugarcane along with meat production, milk production, fish production and poultry. Despite such a huge production in India, owing to perishable nature of these produce around 25-30 per cent of the produce is being lost as post harvest loss. The one important reason for this may be the production of the crops are season specific and during the peak season the production is more while demand for consumption is less. It may be possible to cut down losses to great extent, if these produces may be transported from the produce states to those who are not producing due to agro-climatic reasons. So for making transportation of the perishable a successful venture in decreasing post harvest loss, there must be proper storage facilities both at producing site as well as marketing place. The aim of the storages must be to keep the produce in saleable condition during entire storage periods. Some products are stored for short period whereas fresh fruits, vegetables require cold storage. Foods before keeping into the storage room need some pre-storage treatments for better results.

Proper marketing of perishable commodities such as fruit and vegetables often requires some storage to balance day-to-day fluctuation between harvest and sale or for long term storage. Storage of horticulture produce is attempeted with a view to extend period of availability. Storage controls shelf life of produce by controlling rate of respiration, transpiration, ripening and biochemical changes all of which are responsible for shelf decomposition/deterioration of produce. Further, different types of storage have different attributes in minimizing microbial infection and thus add to better storability of produce.

In the past several insect pests had entered India and are causing economically perceptible damage to native crops. The Government of India, in line with the International Standards on Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM), notified ‘Plant Quarantine Order, 2003’ to reduce the risk of introduction of exotic insect pests in India. The storage insect pests of quarantine concern for India have been listed in Table 9.1.

Abstract

The history of the development of the tea plantation industry in the Darjeeling district dates back to the early fifties of the nineteenth century when the English entrepreneurs took lease of extensive land on the mountain slopes of the Darjeeling Himalaya and started tea plantations. During the formative years of the introduction of the plantation industry the region was sparsely populated so, laborers from various parts of India and her neighboring countries were encouraged to settle in the fringe areas of the Tea gardens. Over the last 160 years many changes have taken place in their lifestyle. The main purpose of this paper is to reconstruct the history of Darjeeling tea and to explore the life of people in the Darjeeling region and also to learn how the local populace adjusted themselves with the given environment with the changing scenario of the area.

Synonyms : Infectious adenitis, Equine distemper
It is  an acute infectious disease of equines characterized by catarrhal inflammation of the upper respiratory tract with suppuration and abscessation of the associated lymph node.
 
Etiology :  Strepococcus  equi subspecies equi is a Gm+ cocci that produces a -b haemolysin characterized by clear haemolysis surrounding colonies growing on blood agar. It is a biovar or genovar of S. zooepidemicus. Equines are very much susceptible and different genetic clones occur geographically. S. equi varies in virulence which is related to M protein and hyaluronic capsule produced. S. equi variant without capsule causes mild disease.

Introduction

Aquaculture has been recognised as an important livelihood creating employment opportunities in the remote rural villages and urban areas. Further, it makes crucial contribution to global economic security and growth and generates income both directly and indirectly through support services. Over the past six decades, the prospects of ornamental fish have been emerging as a lucrative commercial aqua-venture. The global ornamental fish trade is the fastest growing sector and a multimillion dollar business which provides avenues for overseas earnings. The developing countries play a crucial role in production of ornamental fishes as more that 60% of the production comes from the households of the developing countries (FAO, 2006). The estimated worth of international ornamental fish trade at retail price is US$ 8 billion and the entire sector including aquarium tanks, accessories, medicines, feeds, plants, etc is worth of US$ 20 billion. India’s share in global export market is negligible as it is mainly dominated by the wild caught species mainly from the northeastern states of India and Western Ghats and estimated at Rs. 5.5. crores in 2009-10 (MPEDA, 2011).

SYNOPSIS

Urban and rural agriculture are different entities in terms of stakeholder involvement and enabling environment for farming but they are dialectically interlinked in providing food and nutrition security of any country. Urban agriculture is more suitable on the production of nutritious crops, while rural agriculture’s first priority is to produce more food from staple. Attaining nutrition security is more complex than it is previously thought. However, while existing systems of production should continue at field levels by developing more nutritionally rich cropping patterns, its integration with farmers’ farming systems remains more important.

Introduction

Enterprise management involves a combination of tools, strategies, and processes that work together to form a cohesive plan and framework supporting overall operations. The key is ensuring that these elements are interconnected, which enables the smooth flow of information and minimizes redundancies.

Core business functions such as human resources and supply chain management often operate in isolation. However, this separation can slow down business operations, create unnecessary obstacles, and lead to loss of revenue or customers.

By viewing each business area as interconnected, these silos can be eliminated, leading to more efficient operations. For instance, a well-functioning human resources team can hire the right talent, which, in turn, strengthens marketing and sales efforts. As sales grow, revenue increases, enabling further improvements in logistics operations.